Some tense times Monday afternoon in the 100 block of East Main Street in Bloomsburg. A smell of natural gas near Balzano's Restaurant at 112 East Main brought out the town's fire units shortly before 4 O'clock. Firemen couldn't find anything out of place... until they went to the rear of the building. That's where they discovered a leaking connection. The area where the leak was discovered did have some ventilation... so the smell was intermittent. U-G-I was called and technicians worked to correct the problem.

Flu

If you haven't caught the flu this year... health professionals say there's a good chance you'll come down with it soon. That word from Geisinger Health System's Dr. Lisa Esolen. She says if you haven't got your flu shot for the season yet... don't wait. The flu is spreading so rapidly... that doctors, hospital emergency rooms and urgent care centers are seeing an increase in patients.

Gun Show

A gun show at a neighboring Luzerne county volunteer fire company drew a record number of people. An estimated 900 visitors attended the annual Nescopeck Hunting and Rifle Club gun show on Saturday. A similar number on Sunday. An estimated 25 vendors on hand selling their wares. The number of people visiting the show comes in the wake of the gun control debate in Washington.

Indecent Assault

A 20 – year old Catawissa man remains in the Columbia County jail after being busted late last week after he allegedly had unlawful contact with a 3 – year old boy. Dusty Fulkerson has been charged by state troopers with having inappropriate contact with the youngster.

Kidsburg Donation

The committee attempting to raise money for the construction of Kidsburg 2.0 has received a substantial donation. According to organizer Deb Huckens.... Bloomsburg Carpet Industries has contributed $10,000 to the on-going campaign. This brings the total amount raised to $100,000.... as the group attempts to reach a goal of $250,000. The original Kidsburg was destroyed by the September 2011 floods... and since that time toddlers and their parents have been hard pressed to find a place to play.

Monopoly

The makers of the well known board game Monopoly want to make a change-- one of the old tokens will go and a new one will be added. One of the tokens that could go is the race car... which has become a classic over the years. The Triple – A's Jenny Robinson is rallying members to vote to keep that token with the game. Right now... the little roadster appears to be safe. Hasbro... the maker of Monopoly... will keep the voting open through early next month.

Phil the Groundhog
Punxsutawney Phil will make his annual winter weather prognostication just a few weeks... February 2nd to be exact... predicting how much winter weather is ahead of us. Bill Deeley of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club says Phil has a lot of experience looking into the future. Crowds in the 30,000 range have been measured at Gobbler's Knob on Groundhog Day, and organizers are bracing for record numbers this year, as the event falls on a Saturday.

Wendy's Robbery

Police in the Wyoming Valley are still looking for two men who robbed a Wendy's fast food restaurant in Wilkes – Barre Township over the weekend. Police say two employees were taking out garbage early Saturday morning when they were forced back inside by two gunmen... who herded the crew inside a freezer. They made off with personnel effects and contents from a safe. No one was injured.

E-Waste

The Hazleton City Authority is looking into the possibility of opening a site to accept old, worn out computer equipment. The reason... a new state law takes effect later this month banning the disposal of computers, CRT's... and printers from landfills. The authority is considering opening up it's Hazleton Heights office as a collection site. But, the authority members are looking at issues such as cost, manpower and security.

Car / Bus Crash

Police say a West Hazleton man will be charged with ramming his car into the rear of a school bus at the start of the weekend. Maxwell Howe slammed into the rear of the stopped bus on Route 309 near Hazleton. The bus was stopped to drop off students. No one was injured in that Friday crash near Hazleton.

WHLM Sports

BU Wrestling

The Bloomsburg University wrestling team won both matches at the Pitt duals Sunday afternoon. The Huskies beat the 12th ranked Pitt Panthers 19 to 18 and Eastern Michigan 24 to 9. Bloomsburg now has a dual meet record of 10 and 2. The Huskies' next match is Sunday afternoon against Ohio University at Nelson Field House. That match will begin at 2 o'clock.

Jahri Evans

Former Bloomsburg University All American Jahri Evans has been named the top player at his position in the National Football League. Evans is the right guard on the Associated Press All Pro team announced over the weekend. He recently completed his 7th season with the New Orleans Saints.

NFL Sunday

In the NFL playoffs Sunday... the Atlanta Falcons edged the Seattle Seahawks 30 to 28... and: the New England Patriots outscored the Houston Texans 41 to 28.